FDR certainly had some authoritarian tendencies. He also led a country with a strong isolationist bent to it. The country was heavily racist then and he inherited strict immigration laws that favored Europeans.

At the same time FDR’s social program was revolutionary. By building Social Security and strong regulations of banks and the stock market, he laid the framework for the post WWII boom.

His presidency marked a decisive shift in the Black vote from the Republican party to the Democratic. As the saying was “half a loaf” is better than none.

FDR also vehemently criticized Stalin in the early years of WWII. He compared Stalin to Hitler and bashed their totalitarian government. It is true that he tried to charm Stalin at the WWII conferences, but there was not a bromance. Stalin was always distrustful of Roosevelt for delaying the second front. Stanford historian David Kennedy describe Roosevelt as, “fighting the war with American money, American weapons, and Soviet lives.” That was hardly a strategy for endearing the United States to the Soviet Dictator.

I appreciated your article, but thought that some of this other context might help prevent you from making too easy comparisons.